A workshop on Turkey's Century Burdur Agriculture and Livestock Problems and Solution Proposals was held at MAKÜ.

A workshop titled “Turkey Century Burdur Agriculture and Livestock Problems and Solution Proposals Workshop” was organized by Burdur Governorship, in cooperation with Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ) and Burdur Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.

Burdur Governor Türker Öksüz, Burdur Deputies Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz, Mustafa Oğuz and İzzet Akbulut, Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, Burdur Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Eyüp Adıgüzel, Deputy Mayor Mustafa Bozkurt, President of Burdur Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons Kazım Üstüner, President of the Commodity Exchange Ömer Faruk Gündüzalp, President of the Turkish Cattle Breeders Association Kamil Özcan, NGO Representatives, academicians and press members attended the workshop held at MAKÜ Lavanta Tepesi Hotel.

The program, which started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem, was opened by Burdur Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Eyüp Adıgüzel. Adıgüzel provided information about the works carried out by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.

Starting his speech by emphasizing “It is time for Burdur to write its own story in agriculture and livestock.” Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar said, “We are a specialized university in the field of livestock, with embryo transfer and farm certification, accredited, volunteer veterinarians who visit 180 villages are in MAKÜ, in Burdur. We have a serious accumulation of knowledge that we have been working on for 6 years. Everything is in Burdur, but I think we are still late in writing our own story in Burdur. We dream of breeding all over Turkey with a project we previously worked on, which we call the village model. Hopefully, this meeting will be the beginning of that. I wish for a successful workshop.”

Speaking later, Deputy Mustafa Oğuz said, “Why don't we start the Burdur century for Burdur in the days when we enter the Turkey century? It shows us that we can be better in livestock, production, and data in Burdur. We need to take serious steps, especially in creating a market in the production process. We could not create a brand related to Burdur. If we can create a brand, I think we can go further in agricultural products. I hope this workshop will guide both sector components and us, and I thank everyone who contributed.”

Deputy İzzet Akbulut said, “Agriculture and livestock are very important issues for both our country and our province. We come from an understanding that says the foundation of the national economy is agriculture. Especially the selection of MAKÜ as a pilot university and the appointment of our fellow citizen from Burdur as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry gives hope for our province. But I also want to point out that our farmers have moved away from production. We think that farmers can be regained with the policies to be implemented from now on. No matter how much support we provide to our farmers and producers, I think none of this makes sense unless we draw a cost table before starting production. I hope that the workshop held here today will yield good results, and I thank you.”

Starting his speech by saying “When it comes to an issue related to Burdur, there is an important experience of immediately coming together and creating a roadmap,” Deputy Prof. Dr. Adem Korkmaz said, “Consultation in our culture, and workshop in the academic world, is exactly this, that is, common sense. There are important sectors in Burdur that need to be worked on. We urgently need to put the question of how much employment and added value we achieve on the table and find solutions. Today we are discussing agriculture and livestock. The university acts as a carrier with the accumulation created for the common sense of the city, and it no longer just carries out its work meticulously. An embryo center is being established, and bulls are obtained with this center, but further discussions need to be held to disseminate this in the field. There are many aspects to the issue. MAKÜ's persistent work on all aspects has yielded results. Burdur is ready to go into the field with all its technology, human resources, trained teaching staff in this field, and certification. We have the numerical value to meet the needs of all Turkey and the Middle East with the animal presence in Turkey. We need to work to establish the accreditation of not only Turkey but also the world union. We need to bring out the city’s intelligence and power. All three deputies are here, we are together for Burdur. Our nation has given us this responsibility. If we combine our strengths, the city will move forward. I want to express that we have no problem being together when there is an issue in Burdur. I thank everyone who contributed to this workshop.”

In his speech, Burdur Governor Türker Öksüz emphasized that a study should be conducted with common sense to identify Burdur's problems and said, “We say this is the capital of the teke region, the land of lavender. Agriculture and livestock are our sources of life, and they are among the sectors that contribute to national income and employment. It is an indispensable sector for every country. We are a city that stands out with our number of breeding animals and breeding. We have an organized structure. We are in a position that can be an example for every province. We are also in important ranks in milk production in our country. I would like to state that we are also in a significant position in small ruminant and trout production. I believe that we can contribute to the development of our province by working with common sense with all these values. I express my happiness to be here today for the Turkey century and thank everyone who contributed.”

After the opening speeches, the program continued with the “Turkey Century Burdur Agriculture and Livestock Problems and Solution Proposals Workshop”.

In the workshop, sessions were held at 6 different tables, including Dairy Cattle Breeding, Small Ruminant Breeding, Animal Diseases, Greenhouse Cultivation, Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Cultivation, and Field and Forage Crops Cultivation. The program ended with report presentations..